You're reading: Level of vaccination against diphtheria and poliomyelitis drops dangerously

A dangerously low level of vaccination of the population against diphtheria and poliomyelitis has been registered in Ukraine, First Deputy Health Minister of Ukraine Vasyl Lazoryshynets has said.

"The campaign against vaccination launched in the country has already led to sad consequences: the level of coverage of vaccinations against some infections – diphtheria and poliomyelitis – has already dropped lower than 70%, and we know that society is unprotected if this level is lower than 95%, he said at a press conference in Kyiv on Monday.

The first deputy minister also said he is concerned over the general state of health of the Ukrainian younger generations.

"I will say frankly, we have a high risk of getting an unhealthy generation [in the future]," he said.

The official added that currently every schoolchild suffers from one or two chronic illnesses.